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Sunday, June 29, 2014

Wynwood Art Walk and Michael's Genuine Food and Drink

Wynwood is a neighborhood in Miami, FL. This area used to be an industrial wasteland until colonized by the art scene about 10 years ago. The next game-changer will be the proposed Residential Developments here.

Every second Saturday of each month in Wynwood they have an Art Walk and the galleries and vendors are open late. Although there are many of these on adjacent streets, it really all happens on NW 2nd Avenue between NW 22nd Street and NW 29th Street.

Walking up and down NW 2nd Avenue you would have thought you went to food truck heaven.

On the way out of Wynwood there were a pair of Conga players. If nothing else, I just really liked this picture, especially the kids in the belly of the whale.

After the art walk, my dining companion (DC) and I worked up a bit of an appetite. We decided to eat at Michael's Genuine Food and Drink (MGFD). Michael's is in the Design District adjacent to Wynwood, and is an area complementary to it having fashion and design themes. The restaurant has been around since 2007. Michael Schwartz, one of the owners, won The Best Chef South Award in 2010 from The James Beard Foundation. This is sort of an Oscar in the culinary world, and a very good sign.

After negotiating one of the parking meters in the design district, here is what greeted us, and it was very cool. The sculpture was buttressed asthetically by images of Elvis Presley.

Upon entering MGFD,

you can choose to eat outside,

inside by the bar

or in the indoor dining area.

After getting a table outside my DC and I decided to sample a few things off the Dinner Menu.

After some really good bread was brought to the table,

the first thing that was ordered was an appetizer, the crispy pig ears.

Chewy and crunchy at the same time, and seasoned with Cajun Seasoning. With a bit of lime juice, perfect.

Kimchi, a spicy fermented cabbage was served on the side with peanuts and a Pea Shoot. Really, really good.

Grilled octopus followed the pork belly.

This was a fairly large salad with octopus, Gigandes Beans, roasted peppers, spicy tomato Harissa, olives and herbs. Another really good dish.

I am not much of a dessert eater, but decided to try some of the Passion Fruit pot de creme.

Coconut donuts were served with both a passion fruit creme and a Papaya jam. Although I have eaten all of 2 donuts in the past 10 years, I think these were the best donuts I have ever had.

The offerings at MGFD are excellent, and I would run back without a second thought. The food for it's caliber is reasonably priced and the service was excellent. What more could you want? Too bad it's not closer to Southwest Florida.

About Me

I have started this blog, Southwest Florida Forks, as I want to share my dining and food experiences with you both textually and pictorially.I love food and photography and it is my hope that through my dining/food/traveling combined with photos
I can bring to you an accurate log of my experiences.A fork can be an
eating implement used to pick things up, as well as being a point where something disperses,
perfect for a blog. You can choose to use these postings as a guide, and if not, perhaps just see life through my lens.

The content of Southwest Florida Forks is strictly personal and does not necessarily reflect the views of any other person, company or organization.